East Carolina University
SMU
GAMEDAY: Pirates Trek To Dallas For Sunday Matchup With SMU
January 27, 2018 | Men's Basketball
| Game 20: at SMU | |
| Date: | Sunday, Jan. 28 |
| Time: | 2 p.m. (ET) / 1 p.m. (CT) |
| Location: | Dallas, Texas (Moody Coliseum) |
| Live Game Coverage: | TV: CBS Sports Network Radio: WHRD 94.3 FM | TuneIn Radio Online Video Stream: Watch CBS Sports Network |
| Internet Options: | Live Stats |
| Game Notes: | ECU | SMU | The American |
Following a seven-day layoff ECU returns to the hardwood Sunday, Jan. 28, against American Athletic Conference rival SMU at Moody Coliseum in Dallas. Tip-off is slated for 2 p.m. EST and the game will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
The Pirates haven't played since suffering an 86-60 loss at No. 12 Cincinnati a week ago, while the Mustangs are coming off a 63-52 loss at UConn Thursday night, its first game without leading rebounder and second leading scorer Jarrey Foster.
Foster, who was averaging 13.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, suffered a partially torn ACL against Tulane last Saturday and will miss the remainder of the season.
The Mustangs are sixth in the conference in scoring, but have one of the league's top tier defenses holding their foes to 62.0 points per game, third-best in The American. ECU is averaging just over 65 points per game on offense.
SMU is the only team in The American to shoot over 40 percent (.402) outside the 3-point arc and ranks second to Wichita State in 3s per game with 8.6.
ECU is holding its opponents to 31.7 percent shooting outside the arc, second only to Cincinnati.
SMU junior Shake Milton is one of the top offensive players in the league, averaging better than 18 points per game and shooting over 43 percent from 3 and 84 percent at the free throw line.
SMU senior Ben Emelogu is The American's top 3-pointer shooter, hitting on 53.9 percent (48-of-89) of his attempts outside the arc.
Pirate senior B.J. Tyson will look to get back on track after having his double figures scoring streak stopped at eight games by Cincinnati. Tyson leads the Pirates with 14.8 points per game and is racing Houston guard Rob Gray for the conference's all-time scoring record.
Junior Kentrell Barkley is close to averaging a double-double the last three games with 10.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. He posted his fourth double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds at home against USF On Jan. 17, while handing out a season-high seven assists and collecting an ECU and American conference record-tying seven steals. He's scored double figures in five of the last six games and grabbed seven or more rebounds in four of the past five contests.
Freshman Shawn Williams has been hot from outside as of late. He has led the Pirates in scoring in each of the last three games, averaging 18 points per game during that stretch and shooting 44.4 percent (12-of-27) outside the 3-point arc.
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SMU has won seven straight in the series.
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